Pulper rebuild in Papeterie Zuber Rieder in France

“The success of the project was based on the smooth cooperation between GL&V’s experts and Zuber Rieder’s project personnel. Our earlier experiences with GL&V also served as a foundation for the success of the project. We are extremely happy with the outcome,” states Guillaume Couval, who is responsible for the mill’s maintenance and projects.

Papeterie Zuber Rieder’s image on the paperboard markets is a flexible, independent French company open to the world. “The combination of our values, expertise and industrial equipment makes us stand out from larger companies and gives us a distinctive profile,” reads its website.

Papeterie Zuber Rieder specializes in high-end papers that are sold around the world. The company was founded in the 18th century in Alsace, France, close to the German border. In 1881, the company established a site producing fine papers in Boussières in the department of Doubs, Bourgogne-France-Comte region, in Eastern France.

The width of the paper machine’s wire is 2,140 mm, its speed is 300 m/min and it is used to manufacture various paper products in the grammage range of 72–450 gsm. The small paper machine gives the company a flexible approach to production. The company manufactures small quantities derived from its standard offering or fully customized papers combined with specific paper processing and finishing services. The key product groups are packaging, labels, luxury print products and office and technical papers. Many products, and in particular label papers, are very demanding due to the copious further processing requirements related to them.

“Our paper machine is narrow, which enables the creation of numerous types of end products for a multitude of end uses. The quality of the products is important to both us and our customers. This is why we try to focus on special requirements and narrow market segments. Our end products must always meet the premium standard,” says Papeterie Zuber Rieder’s Export Market Manager Vincent Thieffry. “Our concept is based on customer flexibility, quality and both our innovations and those of the customer. Our markets lie in North America, Asia, Europe and, of course, France.”

Pulper line´s new performance

Papeterie Zuber Rieder says that it constantly revamps its production process in order to expand its offering. Its latest investment was the modernization of its pulp processing. Zuber Rieder selected GL&V Sweden AB, known for its advanced modernizations of pulpers, as the project’s implementer and its technology partner.

The final objective of the project was to increase the operating speed and production volumes of the board machine, as the capacity of the old line was not sufficient. Short fiber pulper was seen as a bottleneck.

“Our old pulp line was unable to produce enough pulp for our future requirements, so we contacted GL&V France’s expert in order to raise the capacity of the short fiber line’s pulper. The line also processes broke from the paper machine. We wished to increase the volume of those broke and wet-strength paper used on the line,” says Guillaume Couval, who is responsible for the mill’s maintenance and projects.

“We modernized the pulper on Papeterie Zuber Rieder’s pulper line, which was originally supplied by Black Clawson,” says GL&V Sweden AB’s French representative Pierre-Michel Salles.

GL&V supplied a new, more efficient rotor, and a screen plate. Additionally we supplied manufacturing drawings for new flow deflectors in pulper vat. Customer manufactured new deflectors and purchased a new more powerful motor and installed all parts according to our instructions. Customer also took care of measuring existing dimensions for designing the new parts. Zuber Rieder replaced PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) for the pulper, and operation sequences were optimized based on GLV`s recommendations.

“We understood that out of all of the tenders the customer received, ours was the most comprehensive. Our warranty terms also matched the objectives that Zuber Rieder had set for the project. The modernization of the pulper line made it possible to increase the consistency in the pulper from 7 percent to 9.5 percent including fillers and increase the amount of wet strength broke that is used as raw material”.

“We are extremely happy with this investment. GL&V did a great job and their technical expertise was exceptional. The commissioning of the pulper and ensuring of its operation went without a hitch. The modernization itself was also carried out swiftly and efficiently with just two weeks reserved for the entire installation and start-up process,” says Guillaume Couval.

“The success of the project was based on the smooth cooperation between GL&V’s experts and Zuber Rieder’s project personnel. Our earlier experiences with GL&V also served as a foundation for the success of the project. We are extremely happy with the outcome.”

Specification of the short fiber bale/broke pulper rebuild at Papeterie Zuber Rieder

The pulper rebuild delivery by GL&V Sweden AB included the following equipment and services. GL&V has carried out modernizations on a number of similar pulpers, especially Tampella pulpers.

GL&V delivery:
– TamPulper® rotor 1200 mm
– Screen plate with 15 mm holes
– Manufacturing drawings for flow deflectors
– Installation and startup supervision

Customer delivery:
– New motor 200 kW/1000 rpm
– Flow deflectors according to GL&V´s drawings
– Measurements of existing installation
– Installation of new parts

Rebuilt pulper:
– Original manufacturer Black Clawson
– Pulper type, Vertical
– Pulping volume 22 m3
– Raw material – Short fiber bales and broke